My Brother's Keeper
by anewrevelation
Summary: When the breadcrumbs don't work, Gretel realizes that the only way to help her brother to get home is to get into the deadly red oven herself.


_I don't own Umineko no Naku Koro ni or any of its related characters or scenarios._

_Rated T for mild violence and swearing. __**HUGE, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE END OF ALLIANCE OF THE GOLDEN WITCH. **_

__

"…Right, Ushiromiya Battler…?"

The violet-eyed Witch of Miracles had posed the question, as calm and indifferent as ever. Neither her indirect command nor her rhetorical question shook Battler, the soulless being, from his haze of self-doubt, and he failed to respond. The crimson-haired girl who stood behind him grew frustrated, clenching her fists, gritting her teeth as she waited impatiently for the boy to answer.

"Battler…! Get a hold of yourself! You are here. And the enemy is before your eyes…! Fight! Fight to win!"

Her words were filled with emotion, with motivation, with desire for him to succeed against the witch and to return home to his little sister. Ushiromiya Ange, the lonely six year-old who would never see her family again after the October family conference, was waiting for him back home. Ushiromiya Ange, the eighteen year-old, who was standing behind him now, was fighting with everything she had to send him there.

But…it wasn't enough. Battler merely repeated her words listlessly, still sounding as if someone was moving his mouth for him, speaking incoherently. It wasn't that Ange didn't understand why her ally couldn't pull himself together; after all, the witch had denied him, his past, his memories…and because of that, he had lost all sense of his identity. Bernkastel had managed to bring him back to the game physically, but mentally…he wasn't there.

The expression on his face, or the lack thereof, clearly read that he had no sense of self, no purpose…that he wasn't Ushiromiya Battler anymore.

"Don't talk stupid!" Ange said, reprimanding her brother even for his thoughts, "You are Ushiromiya Battler, no one else! No matter who acknowledges or denies that, make sure you believe it yourself…! You know, you are the only one who can create your own world. Don't lose the world where you are Ushiromiya Battler!"

She was slightly out of breath, staring at Beatrice's listless opponent, praying that her words reached him somehow. He inhaled slowly, and her breath caught in her chest as she anticipated a response.

"…Then…who…am I? I'm not Mom's child, right…? Where was I born from…?"

He was talking, but she wanted him as far away from that topic as possible. Battler was staring up at the ceiling, still not looking even remotely like his normal self, and Ange answered almost immediately:

"Yes, that's right. Beato proclaimed it with the red truth…So I'll proclaim it too. **Ushiromiya Battler is not Ushiromiya Asumu's son."**

The golden-haired witch sneered, though she didn't look pleased. "…Hmph…in that case, he is not qualified to be the opponent in my game, correct…?"

She thought she had won, though, at this point, she didn't seem to mind. After all, Ange had had to shatter Beato's personal Golden Land to get her to return to the game. Without the game, Battler couldn't win. Determined, Ange pressed further.

"Beatrice, repeat it," she said, her mind working quickly, "'Ushiromiya Battler is not Ushiromiya Kinzo's grandson'."

There was a long pause, during which Beato furrowed her eyebrows, a pained smile appearing on her features. Ange took the lapse in red truth as a refusal, and replied:

"So, you refuse to repeat it. Beato proclaimed two red truths, '**Battle is not Asumu's son'**, and '**No one except Kinzo's grandson Battler is qualified to be an opponent**'. The following theory will have Battler be accepted as qualified without any contradictions. This is my blue truth, listen to it…!"

She had formed a statement, a weapon of blue that would cut through the blinding crimson chains that shackled Battler. She would continue to fight Beatrice and her web of red forever, over and over again, no matter what the consequences were. So, decisive truth in hand, Ange swung at the witch, staring her down with the resolute pride that dwelt in the eyes of all members of the Ushiromiya family.

"The one who is qualified to be Beato's opponent is 'Kinzo's grandson Ushiromiya Battler', and whether or not you are 'Asumu's son' or not is no problem. Thus, even if you are not Asumu's son, you can be Kinzo's grandson. As long as you are Rudolf's son!"

Ange spoke firmly, but no one looked impressed. Lambdadelta, the perplexing witch of Certainty who had tried to tie her to a never-ending game, using Ange's own selfish desires as a weapon, rolled her eyes at the blue truth.

"Hmph, isn't this just a foolish word game?"

This was ignored, and Bernkastel spoke soon after. "…Blue truth, effective. Beato, your counter-argument with the red truth? If you cannot counter it with the red truth, there is no problem with Battler's qualifications as an opponent."

There was another extended silence, during which everyone watched the golden-haired witch. Beatrice didn't respond, averting her gaze as she stared sullenly at the floor, but Battler began to become more aware of his surroundings. His spirit was returning, little by little, and he turned his sapphire gaze on the red-haired girl beside him, looking confused.

"…Then…who…am I…?"

Releasing an exasperated groan, Ange said "Get a hold of yourself! You are Ushiromiya Battler! Yeah, maybe Asumu okaa-san didn't give birth to you. But so what?! That doesn't change in the slightest the fact that she was a mother to you, right?!"

She had only been six in that world…that younger, innocent Ushiromiya Ange didn't know much about her older brother's real mother, and didn't really understand their bizarre circumstances. However, both Anges knew what it meant to be a mother, and Battler had to remember, too. He had to free himself from the vicious snare of Beato's trap and fight harder against her until he was the victor. But…what could she possibly say to pull him back up from those depths? What would make him look to the sky and reach out for her hand?

"…For example, what is Ushiromiya Ange to you? You might not share the same blood, but she's still your little sister, right?! It's not about blood, it's about bonds, right?!"

She was shaking now, her fists clenched so tightly that they were painted stark-white. She stared fiercely at the crimson-haired man before her, willing him to stand up and fight again, at least for that lonely little girl back in 1986.

"That's…right…"

Her determined, blazing eyes widened slightly as he met her gaze, acknowledging what she had said.

"…Even though we don't share the same blood…Ange is…my little sister."

A lump had grown in the girl's throat, but she swallowed it and grit her teeth, resolved to push him further and further down the right path.

"Say it in red!" she commanded, her eyes shut tight, "Say that Ange is your little sister!"

There was a very pregnant pause during which both brother and sister, Hansel and Gretel, shut their eyes tightly, silently praying for success in this one endeavor. Summoning up a great deal of courage, Battler spoke:

"…**Ange is**…**my little sister.**"

He looked surprised that he could speak it in red, and once he realized that he had been able to speak what must be the truth, he looked relieved. This, at least, was true. In the turbulent ocean of chaos and uncertainty, this, at least, was fact.

"…Ah…I could say it."

Overcome by her emotions at last, unable to remain an impartial bystander any longer, Ange rushed forward and embraced Battler from behind, wrapping her arms tightly around him. He released a little breath of air, obviously taken aback by the amount of force with which she was clutching at him.

"I don't know why Asumu okaa-san wasn't your birth mother. But still, until today and even now, you believe that she is your mother, right?! In this world, there are plenty of people without even a mother…without even a family!"

Memories of twelve painful years flooded her mind, and she shut her eyes. Her sad past had tormented and tortured her, followed her to the ends of the earth and back. Lambdadelta had been right, she knew; Gretel, the trump card of Bernkastel's, would never return to her family in 1986. She would remain in that game room forever, or disappear into nothingness. But…there was an Ushiromiya Ange who could live out her life with her parents and brother. She would save that girl, at least…however she could. By sending her beloved brother home.

"Did Asumu okaa-san ever let you feel lonely? Never, right?! Don't throw your peaceful family away so easily! Your family bonds have gotten too thin after leaving your family for six years! Feel those family bonds much, much more strongly! Remember! For Asumu okaa-san's sake as well, don't lose your affection over a foolish witch's rant like this!"

This seemed to strike some kind of chord in Battler, and he hung his head, tears rolling down his face onto her hands. "You're…right…Mom was…always on my side…Where is this place…? …It's dark…I want to go home…Where's…all of my…family?"

The red-haired girl's heart sunk. There were tears in his eyes, glistening as they appeared, but the light of resolve still hadn't return. After everything she had said, he still couldn't find the willpower to stand up to the witch's tangled web. Ange bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, feeling more and more desperate by the moment.

"Your little sister is waiting at home for you to come back. If even you don't come back…she will be all alone, forever! For your little sister's sake, please win this witch's game…!"

There was desperation in her voice, the plea of thousands of little sisters of varying ages. Alone at home, bullied at school, tortured by Eva obaa-san, journeying with Amakusa…they all cried out for the cycle to stop, for their brave Onii-chan to return. At least one of them…could be saved.

"Ange…my…little sister…But still…I don't get it…Why do I have to keep repeating this incomprehensible, cruel game with Beato…? …I've…had enough…"

He was giving up again, losing out to the fake of a witch. Her grip around him tightened as indignant fury welled up in the pit of her stomach, and she demanded:

"In that case, settle this game quickly and go back home! Ushiromiya Battler, how long are you going to play around in a place like this?! Your little sister is waiting for you to come home!"

He didn't get it! He didn't understand! Why couldn't he…that she needed him to return home?! They all needed him, for him to be freed from that insane game…and he still couldn't pick up the pieces and move on?!

She realized, though…it was true, he had gotten involved with Beatrice's murderous game before he knew what was happening. He was her plaything, her amusement…no, the entertainment for all of the witches. He didn't know what he was doing, or why. So…that should have been the real question, right? If he didn't know why he was fighting, then he would never win and come home! That's why nothing she said reached him…!

He had…to be aware of a purpose for which he must win.

"That's right…I want to go home…I want to go home to Dad and Mom…and Ange…I've had enough…enough of this place…I've had enough of witches, I've had enough of games and murders…enough, enough…"

The other witches watched with interested as Battler's spirit began to stir. Lambdadelta snickered, her face curling into a wickedly amused smile.

"Battler's soul…is starting to come back."

Bernkastel looked as passive as ever, her violet-tinted eyes merely flicking to Ange and then back to the slumped-over opponent of Beato's.

"…But it can't quite reach."

Was this a test from the azure-haired witch? What was she saying? What could Ange possibly tell Battler now that would allow their hands to cross the gap…?

"You've had enough, right?! Then fight so that you can return to your family! Destroy Beatrice and go home!"

"No…I've had enough of witches…! Enough of Beato…enough of everything…and you, too, you're probably just another one of the witch's allies…I could be betrayed again at any time…!"

He was crying again, almost as desperate as she was, locked in a never-ending game of horror, betrayal, death, and destruction. "**You can't trust anything, you can't trust any words that aren't red…!!** Don't bother me, don't bother me…!"

He was a pitiful sight, shaking with broken, hopeless tears. She could think to do nothing but hug his head from behind, so tightly that it probably hurt Battler. She realized it now. Bernkastel had been throwing out a suggestion, that she, Ange, cross the chasm and pull her brother to safety. She was the only one who could do it. There was only one way to do it. She saw that now…and that was most likely the reason her grip was so strong.

When the breadcrumbs didn't work, Gretel realized that the only way to help her brother to get home was to get into the deadly red oven herself.

"**Come home quickly, Onii-chan! Don't leave me all alone!!**"

Battler hiccupped slightly, taken by surprise. "…Huh…who…are you?"

"**It's me, it's Ange…! Dad and Mom and Onii-chan…no one comes home! I'm lonely! I beg you, come home quickly!"**

She did not, and could not, hesitate. This was the only way to send Battler home, and she knew it. She had broken the one, the only rule…but it was all she could do now.

"…A…Ange…You were…Ange?"

"**That's right, I'm Ange!**" she repeated loudly, her eyes shut tight, anticipating a bolt of lightning, a gunshot, something to silence her for shattering the illusion of being a nameless ally. "**The Ushiromiya Ange of a world where no one comes home…! …My entire family…never came home from Rokkenjima that day…!"**

Her voice broke slightly, but she didn't stop. "**The witch before your eyes stole away my whole family, even you, Onii-chan…! …Only you can finish her, Onii-chan! Finish her…! Then, taken your family back! And then…come home to me…!"**

The sobs of her older brother only increased, as he was filled with the emotions that Ange's words held. "…Beato did…to my family…"

Suddenly…it began. She hadn't known how or when it would happen, but now she certainly did. As she held on to her brother for dear life, Ushiromiya Ange felt a gentle scratching at her back, as if someone was feebly trying to get her attention. Fear welled up in her like burning acid, but she couldn't turn around. The desire to help Battler until the very end overpowered primal instincts of fight or flight. For now, she would do nothing.

Then, as if someone had taken a fireplace stoker to her skin, Ange felt a pair of razor-sharp, scalding pincers grab at her skin. It clamped around a small section of her leg, and with impressive force, tore it off of her body. The crimson-haired girl had to bite down on her tongue, _hard_, to prevent herself from screaming aloud. It was excruciatingly painful. Was this it, then? Was this the fate that she had been assigned the moment she spoke her name? As she thought this, the giant red-hot pincers grabbed at another section of her body and ripped it off. She turned her head to the ceiling, tears of pain welling up in her eyes…what a horrible way to end.

Gretel had willingly chosen the oven, and now the tools burned in the witch's furnace were eating her alive, tearing, pulling, twisting…ripping her to shreads.

"…Ange…Ange…! Damn…I…what am I doing…?! Thanks a bunch, Ange…Onii-chan…has been forgetting something important this whole time…!"

But…his words didn't register with her. As he struggled to turn around and face his savior, strong arms held him in place with a force that shocked even him. He reacted as something hot and scarlet landed on his neck, _drip, drip, drip_. Battler seemed to realize what it was right away, since her arms were around him. It drip-drip-dropped onto his hands, too, staining them a bright and chilling red.

"…Blood…A-Ange?! A-Are you alright?! H-Hey…?!"

She continued to bare the incredible, blinding pain, doing everything she could to keep him from turning around and seeing her. The girl's blood splashed onto his shoulders and back, dripping down onto his arms, but she kept her eyes on the back of his head. He needed her to give him a final push in the right direction. She mustered up all of her remaining strength and spoke, her voice very feeble and weak-sounding.

"…In order to save you, Onii-chan, in order to come here, there was a single rule…that I had to keep…This….is it. Letting you, Onii-chan…know…that I was…Ange…"

It had been hard, so hard, to keep her identity from him. The brother that had been murdered twelve years ago, who she hadn't laid eyes on since she was a little girl…she had been so close to him, and unable to tell him that she was his little sister. It was painful (though not quite as painful as her slow destruction) to reject the choice of remaining with her brother forever, playing the endless game against the witch, never leaving Battler's side…

"But…that's no good…Onii…_ah_…chan…unless you come back…At your house…your sister will be waiting…That person isn't me…but this way, your sister…will be saved…"

But she wouldn't. She could barely form coherent sentences, wincing and resisting the urge to cry out in agony as pieces of her body were torn off by the white-hot pincers. Ange knew for a fact, for a beyond-certain fact, that she was going to die. And it wasn't going to be quick and painless, either; what she was experiencing now was beyond pain or torture. It was indescribable…!

"Ange?! Ange! There's so much blood…! So much, so much!"

Battler cried out, worried about the girl he now knew to be his sister. She kept her grip around him firm, preventing him from turning around…but she had lost so much blood already that it wasn't clear how much longer she would be alive to prevent him from looking…from turning his newly-renewed gaze on her mutilated corpse…

Her breathing becoming increasingly labored, Ange spoke again. "…Don't…worry…I am just…a piece…You know, in chess…they have this thing called a sacrifice…"

That was what she was…a sacrificed chess piece. Bernkastel had brought her in, she had moved freely on her own, and now she chose to sacrifice herself for the sake of Battler's struggling piece. It was all she could do…no, it was what she had to do. That was her role, as the Ushiromiya Ange of this world. As the young woman named Gretel who aided Beato's opponent.

"Sacri…what the?! Who cares about that! Let's get you some first-aid quickly! Let go for a second, Ange…!"

First-aid. She would have chuckled at the idea, as if a band-aid could repair the damage done to her massacred and torn-up body, but she lacked the strength entirely. Ange heard Beatrice explain the technical purpose of a sacrificial piece in chess, wishing she could punch the golden-haired witch in the face before leaving…but it wasn't important now.

"…Ange! Ange!" Battler released a loud cry of frustration, and then gasped aloud at the sight of her arm. It was chalk-white and looked almost unreal; surely no person could lose that amount of blood and live. However, fresh blood stained that ghostly hand, and continued to drip, drip, drip…

"…I will…disappear now, but…Onii-chan, fight with all you've got…and I'm sure you will…come back to me…I'll be waiting…always…I had planned on helping you out a lot more than this…but I couldn't do anything…Sorry…"

These were her last regrets. She could have done so much more for him, but with the way everything had played out, this was the best thing to do.

"D-Don't worry about that…! You…taught me, didn't you?! You taught me why I must win…! And that…I have to win for certain, and come back to you…! What…am I doing, lazing about in a place like this…?! Yeah, I won't be playing in a place like this anymore…! 'Cause I'll come back, I'll come back! I'll definitely come back, bringing a souvenir. I promise…!"

Her Onii-chan's strong words warmed Ange as she was torn to pieces, reduced to a half-destroyed body, clinging to life until the very end. A remorseful smile appeared on her face as tears streamed down, but she kept her voice even, even in such a pitiful state.

"…I don't need one…so promise me one thing…"

"What? I'll promise anything…!"

What could he do for her now, seconds before her demise? She tried to swallow and failed, blood running down the sides of her mouth, mixing with the tears and the sweat that was produced as she struggled to remain half-standing. What could she ask of him now?

"…In a second, I'm going to let go of this hand…It hurt, didn't it…? I held it so tightly…sorry…I'm alright…so you don't have to turn around…So in the end…show me the coolest part of you…Onii-chan…Rise from your seat…point at the witch before your eyes…and proclaim that the game will reconvene…"

All she wanted…was for him to swear to defeat the witch, for him to be happy, for him to return to his family, for him to never, ever see what horrific tragedy had befallen his little sister. Satisfied that he would do it, that he would fulfill this last promise to her, she let her hand fall. Finally, the disfigured, decimated, destroyed corpse known as Ushiromiya Ange was dead.

_Without love, there is no magic…_

Good night. Have a nice dream.


End file.
